Ferroelectric materials can form the basis for data storage wherein, for example, binary “1” and “0” levels are represented by the electric polarization of a ferroelectric film pointing “up” or “down”. A data storage device that utilizes, for example, a ferroelectric storage medium can include an electrode, which also may be referred to as a transducer, a probe, or a probe tip, that is movable relative to the storage medium. The storage medium may include a substrate, an electrode layer and a ferroelectric storage layer. The binary “1” and “0” are stored by causing the polarization of the ferroelectric film to point “up” or “down” in a spatially small region or domain local to the electrode. Data can then be read out by, for example, applying a voltage of a magnitude and polarity such as to cause the polarization to point “up”. The domains polarized “down” (e.g. representing “0”), will then switch to the “up” state, and a charge will flow which is proportional to the remanent polarization of the ferroelectric. Domains polarized “up” will have no such current flow. The presence or absence of this current flow, as determined by a sense amplifier, can then be used to determine whether the domain had contained a “1” or “0”. This type of readback is generally referred to as “destructive readback.”